Everyone I speak to agrees; long weekends are just about the greatest thing ever. Maybe we should demand that a minimum 3 day weekend become mandatory across Australia - wouldn't that be amazing?! This past June long weekend (thanks Queen for sharing the birthday love) I took an extra day off and had 4 whole days off. This will probably be it as far as holidays for me this year - so I was pretty excited.

What did I do on 4 whole glorious days off you ask?? Well I took my first love, photography on a road trip. Specifically a road trip to the Grampians in Victoria. Situated some 500 kms from Adelaide it is (as far as I am concerned) the perfect road trip - far enough that it feels like a great road trip, not so far that you're tired and bored by the time you get there. Its also approximately 4 hours from Melbourne...so win win I think!. Now I've been to the area before (Arapiles for rock climbing) - but never to the Grampians and I have to say I was so impressed! It was cold and crisp, oh so scenic, log fires, great food, amazing bush views and kangaroos everywhere (really - everywhere!!).

A few bush walks were the order of the day and although it was cold, I have never enjoyed a bush walk so much. It was so nice to be out in the cold, in the rain, in the bush. I know it probably sounds corny and cliched - but it was nice to go back to basics, with barely any mobile reception and being outdoors for more than an hour a day. I came back feeling a little bit sad to be honest - it was such a lovely escape.

So, if you ever find yourself thinking - "what should I do on my long weekend" Can I recommend this lovely little corner of Australiana - I've included some photographs below to inspire you! Enjoy!

The time between "woo hoo its a new year" and Christmas seems to be getting shorter. I know its not just me, life seems to speed by at an ever faster and alarming rate. I've had this conversation with quite a few people lately and someone told me recently that it has to do with ratio of years lived to the years left to be lived. ie) time SPEEDS up as you get older. Dammit - just when I was just starting to enjoy myself.

One of the resolutions I made at the start of this year, was to take greater pleasure from the small things in life and to take things more slowly. I don't normally make resolutions and this one wasn't really a conscious one, but rather the result of often getting to the end of the year to discover I am extremely burnt out, tired and in need of some slow time. Drawing, art, printing and photography is certainly a big part of this plan. Nothing calms me down at the end of an action packed work day like a walk through my neighborhood and then some hours in the studio working in my notebook, or printing on Senor Enjay.

With the year already half gone - and with the decision taken to not spend money on travel this year (home repairs take greater priority alas). I have been trying to look at my every day world with a little bit more of an adventurous lens. This applies to art as well as to opportunities, photographs and it really does make you appreciate all the tiny little vignettes that you might miss otherwise. Below are the results of 5 months of a more conscious existence and observing my world.

Winters in Adelaide can feel long. Long, dark, wet and dreary. As much as I love the winter and all that implies (snuggly clothes, nights on the couch, comfort food, rain on the tin roof) it does feel somewhat never ending. Coming home from work in the dark every night doesn't inspire me to get creative. SO - when the weather suddenly shifts from "eternal winter" to "beginning of spring" its like someone threw open the door and let in some beautiful golden light. Its not quite here yet, with some lingering wintery days (and a hail snow storm yesterday!) but the fruit trees are starting to blossom, the bees are humming at my lavender and the days are slowly getting longer. After work, I can now go for a decent hour long walk looking at all of my neighbours gardens and gorgeous houses while making plans for my own.

A few weeks ago I did a watercolour course. I've always dabbled with watercolours, loving how they look on the page, almost translucent and shimmery - but I've never really known how to get them to do what they were supposed to. This workshop was brilliant, Sue N﻿inham, our fab teacher was great; we learnt how to mix all of our colours (from three primary colours) and how to use different techniques to use the watercolours in all of their watery goodness. We then went on to use these techniques in a work of our own. I knew I would love watercolours - but not how much I would love it! Watching the way the colours move around in the water on your page, how the combination of absorbent paper and water work, as well as the surprising way colours sometimes mix together, is nothing short of amazing. I have never been more excited at WATCHING PAINT DRY!

I've posted some of my class experiments and attempts on my facebook page, but since then - I have been experimenting like crazy! Practically running home to play and experiment with my watercolours, incorporating inks, prints and experimenting with watery, watery, rainbow coloured goodness! I've also made a cracking start on the Christmas market season that starts up in a few months by ordering about a million moleskin notebooks to customise, some with illustrations and others with prints I am working on! I've attached some progress shots I have taken with my phone, and will upload some proper images when I am finished! You'll see I am a tad obsessed with waves at the moment....

Feeling very alive and optimistic at the moment. Thank you all for your lovely comments and posts on my Syrian blog piece - I was honestly blown away by how many people are here reading along and how much the images resounded with everyone. I will post more photos on and off from Syria (I have so many) but for now.... its all about the rainbowy goodness.